Power to the People Professional_ How to Add 100s of Pounds to Your Squat, Bench,and Deadlift with Advanced Russian Techniques ( PDFDrive )

CHAPTER I: TOTAL
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It is the exercises of the second group, or variations of the powerlifts, that are the focus of this
chapter. The point is: exercises closely resembling the competition lift are the only foolproof assistance
exercises. Only such exercises assure the neural adaptations helpful to the cause and muscle
hypertrophy helpful to the given lift.
These exercises work for at least two reasons. First, 'specialized variety', providing a novel, yet
specific training stimulus and second, recruiting and building previously unused motor units and
weak muscle groups.
1) 'SPECIALIZED VARIETY', PROVIDING A NOVEL, YET
SPECIFIC TRAINING STIMULUS
The biological law of accommodation states that the response of an organism to a given stimulus
decreases over time. In other words, the longer you repeat an exercise, the less effective it gets.
Therefore, exercises must be varied.
On the other hand, there is the law of specific adaptations to imposed demands. It states that in
order to get good at an exercise, you must practice that exercise.
So effective training must be different and same! A puzzle for a Zen master. According to
Zatsiorsky (1995), the conflict between the need for specificity and variability is one of the main
problems in elite athletic training.
Switching to different variations of the competition lifts enables the lifter to solve this problem
and keep making progress. Addressing weightlifters who still pressed, Rodionov (1967) emphasized
the importance of changing the grip, the barbell or foot position, the bench incline angle, etc.
He emphasized that training with such minor changes was less tiring and the adaptive response
was more pronounced. Garhammer (1981) established that subtle variations of the hand or foot
placement or the body position during the same exercise helped continued strength gains.
Nikolay Ozolin, one of the patriarchs of the Russian sports science, lists the principle of variety
and novelty among the principles of special sports preparation. This principle prescribes including
exercises that are "different in form and content", yet still specific to the needs of the athlete's
sport. "Exercises practiced in multiple sets should preferably be varied (the form of the movement,
the type of grip, the implement, and other conditions), but in such a way that the same muscles
are used and used in the same regime. This adds variety and reduces the psychological strain."
(Ozolin, 2006) The Westside Barbell Club using three grip widths on their dynamic effort bench
day is an example of this idea applied. This is what Russians call specialized variety. (Bachvarov,
1986)
Ozolin offers examples of specialized variety from different sports diving from an unfamiliar
height, long jumping from a board elevated above the track, gymnastic take-offs from a vaulting
board with springs stronger or weaker than the regulation ones, playing table tennis with two
balls at once, throwing a hammer while standing on an elevated round platform of a limited diameter.
Throwers throwing a variety of implements is Louie Simmons' favorite example. "This system
will improve form as well as build phenomenal strength."